According to the Wall Street Journal, the SEC sent an initial notice to Mozilo several weeks ago warning him of the charges. The charges include alleged violations of insider-trading laws and failing to disclose material information to shareholders.

A civil lawsuit against Mozilo could be announced in the next few weeks.

Countrywide, once the nation's biggest home-mortgage lender, was acquired by Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) in 2008 amid the housing downturn.